6 Tips for Network Marketers to Crush It on TikTok

George J. Ziogas

The culture is different and the approach has to be different too

Network marketing, sometimes called multi-level marketing (MLM), takes skill and a willingness to give yourself to many people. You have to be able to reach out, follow up, and put on your teaching cap to train new recruits. Luckily, technology has made this easier than ever, but you still have to be a real go-getter to make the business work.

Most people use places like Facebook to do their recruiting — if they recruit digitally, that is. However, a new kid on the block is surprisingly effective when it comes to recruiting: TikTok. Yes, that platform that births weird dance crazes and inspires kids to do stupid things like drink too much Benadryl.

TikTok can be a marketing powerhouse, and these tips will get you going.

How to Approach TikTok

TikTok, in some ways, isn’t much different from other kinds of marketing, but there are a few snags that make marketing on TikTok a daunting endeavor.

First of all, you need to be consistent. This is true of all forms of marketing, whether you’re running a blog, YouTube channel, or Instagram. Consistency trumps unpredictable bursts of energy every single time. Can it get boring? Sure. Doing something over and over again wears on you, but you find ways to keep yourself doing those things because you know they’re good for you.

Secondly, you shouldn’t be a perfectionist. This isn’t merely about using perfectionism as a gateway to procrastination; instead, this is about working super hard on a video that isn’t going to outperform a more off-the-cuff video. TikTok is generally quite relaxed, and many marketers find that their more professional-looking videos don’t blow up like their other videos.

Your mileage may vary on this, and some of it’s likely dependent on your niche, but perfectionism isn’t something to strive for in the TikTok realm.

Finally, you have to have perseverance. This is the one that can scare a lot of people away from TikTok, as it can be disheartening.

One of the things that plague all marketing is the unpredictability of what will go viral and why. Articles you pour your heart and soul into won’t get comments and shares the way some articles you typed up without much thought will, and it’s no different with video. A TikTok video you thought over carefully may not get the stupendous amounts of views that an off-the-cuff video got.

It’s possible to have only a small amount of followers and then have a video go viral. That’s the wild nature of the platform, and there’s no way to predict what videos will do well and which will flounder. That’s something you have to be mentally prepared for, and it’s important to realize that that’s what makes it attractive for marketers. If you struggle on other social media platforms, TikTok might be a game-changer for you.

But remember, going viral might be a double-edged sword. Any publicity is a good thing for some, but others don’t have that thick skin. Thick skin is something you need more when working on TikTok than on other social media sites, such as Instagram and Facebook.

TikTok attracts a different crowd, often Millennials and Zoomers, and there isn’t much filter on TikTok. Haters will come your way if a video goes viral, and you’ll have to have the perseverance to overcome that.

If you know that what you’re doing will help people, or that the company you’re recruiting for is a stand-up company with integrity, you just need to relax and not get too defensive.

Network marketing is unfairly maligned in the online space. People are quick to throw around terms like “pyramid scheme” without fully understanding what makes one network marketing a legit side hustle and what makes another a pyramid scheme. You can make a video that addresses these concerns, but don’t respond to every single comment in a defensive manner.

Isn’t There Any Way to Improve Your Chances of Getting Views?

Despite all the doom and gloom about the unpredictability of the platform, there are a few things that, anecdotally, have worked for other marketers.

Keep the Videos Short

This one feels obvious, as TikTok exists for short-form videos. However, the platform recently rolled out an update allowing users to upload 10-minute videos, which isn’t far behind the 15-minute video policy that YouTube enforced back in the day.

Using all 10 minutes may not be a bad idea when teaching a skill, but most of your videos should be shorter than that. TikTok users want to watch something quickly and move on.

The ‘Ask Me How’ Videos

This is one of the more standard marketing tactics on social media. First, you make a video demonstrating the product, opportunity, or personal success. As an example, if you’re in the weight-loss industry and have lost a lot of weight thanks to the product or company you’re promoting, you could show a “before” picture or hold up one of your old pieces of clothing (pants or shirts). After you’ve done this, you close simply with, “Ask me how!”

This form of video works well because it favors shorter videos and piques curiosity without annoying viewers.

The Controversial Videos

If you really don’t mind haters, maybe courting controversy will be welcome in your ballpark. This would include doing things like creating videos calling out MLM haters by saying most people who failed simply didn’t put in the work. While it may seem obvious to successful marketers, it’s a good way to court controversy within the divisive TikTok crowd.

Or, if you have an approach to marketing that works for you but goes against mainstream advice, a video about that might be a good approach. Don’t be afraid of controversy if what you’re doing works. Sometimes, trying to please everyone is a recipe for dancing with mediocrity.

Controversy typically prompts engagement, but it might not be in the form of a love-bomb. If you can deal with that, it’s a good way to get lots of views quickly.

Recap

Those are six tips to help you crush TikTok marketing. Here they are again, just for your reference.

1. Be consistent

2. Don’t be a perfectionist

3. Persevere even in the face of poor view numbers or negativity

4. Keep your videos on the short side if possible

5. Make ‘ask me how’ videos

6. Don’t fear controversy

Off you go!

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